


In Sight

by Palebluedot



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Battlefield Violence, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Endgame Fix-It, Fix-It, M/M, Reunions, fun final battle vibes not the other kind, missing moment: bucky and steve speaking AT ALL before the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-26 10:25:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18715141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Palebluedot/pseuds/Palebluedot
Summary: “What the hellwasthat? You went at him byyourself? With ahammer?”(ENDGAME SPOILERS)





	In Sight

The handle colliding with his palm at a hundred miles an hour made the bones of Steve's hand cry out in protest, that's for sure, but the pain slamming through his arm each time the hammer connects with armor turns that initial shock into a mosquito bite. He doesn't know what fluke of nature's letting him _use_ the damn thing, but even after everything his body's gone through, he's just not built to handle the blasts of ozone-laced cosmic energy flooding his form with every swing. He could swear it's threatening to shred his muscle, shatter his bones to nothing.

Fortunately, he'll heal fast.

He leaps again at Thanos, swinging wildly, unsure if he's got the hammer's sheer mass to thank for the force of each landing, or if it's some will within it pulling him along, frothing for vengeance for its true master, lying crumpled not far away. Metal smashes into metal with violent, percussive strikes, the reverberations of the flurry of impacts overlapping wildly as they spike from Steve's hand, to his wrist, his elbow, shoulder, back. Thanos staggers backwards, and fierce joy shoots through Steve's chest. _Let's finish this_.

A misstep, a slow shield arm — could've been anything, really. One moment to another, and the pain of half a dozen cracked ribs splinters over him. He holds his ground, but only just gets his shield up in time to block the next blow, splitting his knuckles against the metal in the process. Swinging on instinct, Steve gets a shot in, but it's a glancing hit at best, and the game changes. Steve just catches the cold glint in Thanos' eyes before he takes one to the head and his vision blurs. Strike after strike, Thanos advances, and there's only so much Steve can hold off. Thanos slams into his fractured ribs, and the wind leaves him. He's still wheezing when the next one lands and knocks it out of him again.

It happens in the same second. His shield cracks and falls away, and Thanos picks him up like a ragdoll and throws him to the ground. Easy as anything. Steve's dizzied, on his knees, his forehead pressed into the charred gravel of the battlefield, but he can dimly appreciate the irony of getting beat to shit by yet another bully four times his size here at the end of the world. He hasn't felt small in years.

His ears are ringing too loud to hear any footsteps, but he can feel the ground quiver. _Get up now, get up_. He pushes off the ground, but his arms are rubber bands, snapped in two. He pulls his head up, sees the two armored legs approaching, and knows he is not ready for what's walking towards him. _Come on, get up, get to your feet before_ —

“ _Hey!_ ”

The sound carves through the fog, sends a jolt of adrenaline straight to Steve's heart. Thanos stops, turns his head, then the crack rings out and the bullet strikes him square in the forehead. Steve scrabbles to his feet with what's left of his shield in hand because the voice was _real_. Bucky always hit them right between the eyes.

The bullet bounces off harmlessly, lands in the dust, but it was enough to steal Thanos' attention, get him to turn and run towards the shot instead, which must have been the plan all along, the _idiot_.

Not a fucking chance.

Steve barrels at full speed over the rubble, past Thanos, towards the figure with his face half-obscured by a rifle who _still isn't running,_ and tackles him to the ground. It's just quick enough to get them both clear of the first punch and put himself between Bucky — _Bucky_ — and the next. He throws his ruined shield up and braces — only to be blinded by a streak of red and gold lightning from above.

Danvers dives like an eagle, blasting Thanos directly back into the raking claws of the waiting T'Challa, but Steve only watches long enough to see that they can more than hold their own for the moment before turning back to the big pile of stupid he's got pinned to the ground.

“ _Ow._ ”

Steve's stomach swoops. “Are you hurt?”

“Well, I wasn't until someone _tackled_ me,” says Bucky, pointedly rubbing the back of his head. His eyes blow wide the moment he opens them. “You've got some nerve asking me if _I'm_ hurt — Jesus, _look_ at you.”

Steve struggles to his feet, biting back a wince as he offers Bucky a hand to pull him up. “I'm fine.”

“The hell you're fine,” says Bucky, seizing his jaw in one hand and his wrist in another, turning them this way and that like he's never seen his lip split or his knuckles bloody before. “What the hell _was_ that? You went at him by _yourself_? With a _hammer_? Fuckin' _Christ_ , Rogers, you're gonna kill me with this shit sooner rather than later, I _swear — ”_

It knocks Steve flat, that tone — though you'd think he'd be used to seeing ghosts by now. He raises his free hand to cup Bucky's face, feel the beat of his heart underneath his thumb. Steady and undeniable. “It _is_ you,” he says, voice thick before it breaks altogether. “It really worked.”

“Aw hell, don't play that card,” Bucky complains, but his eyes soften. His grip softens too, where he's holding his hand.

“I'm playing it,” says Steve, folding him into a hug and squeezing, tight. “Don't you ever make me play it again.”

Bucky's arms wrap around him in a second. “Got nothing to worry about, pal. Think I've died enough for a lifetime.” He kisses Steve's temple, then presses their cheeks together, muffling his voice when he says, “I'm still pissed as hell at you.”

Steve smiles. “I know.”

All around, the battle screeches and rages, but just for a moment, Steve doesn't give a damn. Bucky's arms are feather-light around his shoulders, but his fingers run endlessly through his hair, and he's got his nose burrowed deep in the crook of Steve's neck. It finally hits Steve that Bucky's being so careful with him because he saw Thanos royally fuck up his ribs. He clings to Bucky all the harder, ribs be damned. He's been _waiting_ for this.

Suddenly, something's wrong. Bucky notices it too, starts to disentangle himself, taps him on the shoulder, “Steve — !”

But Steve's already moving, arm flying back on instinct, and his shield smacks into something snarling's head with a wet _thwack_. He turns around to finish it off, but Bucky's already shot it between the eyes.

The thing in the dust gazes emptily up at them, mouth hanging open and tongue lolling over way too many teeth. Bucky prods it with the toe of his boot in disgust. “Why is it that every time I wake up, there's a war on?”

Steve shakes his head. “Wish I knew.”

“Well, I'm sick of it. Let's fucking finish this one and go _home_.” Bucky feeds a new round into his rifle and catches Steve's eye. “I'll watch your six, you watch mine?”

“Thought that went without saying.” Steve grins, the kind that feels bright and brilliant though it's got no place here. Bucky matches it, and it grows.

Off in the distance, Sam darts and swerves above the fray, and there's nothing like good air support. As though reading Steve's mind, Bucky tilts his head towards him. “Shall we?”

“One second.” Steve stretches out his hand. It'll hurt a bitch when it lands, and he's down half a shield, but soon, he won't need either of them anymore. The end is in sight. From across the field, the hammer flies.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Continuity note: I honestly don't remember if Captain Marvel and Black Panther actually teamed up together in melee range against Thanos at any point but it would've been super dope if they did, so I figured while I was taking a hammer to _fix_ the canon, I could pick whatever deus ex machina dream team I wanted.
> 
> Comments are love! <3


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